LONDON (Commodity Online): Futures picked up a few cents on the day, while cash markets fell by a similar amount. On the day, the prompt month rose three cents, to $3.16/MMBtu.
The back of the curve received a similar boost, with calendar 2012 climbing three cents, to $3.43, and calendar 2013 rising two cents, to $4.07. The potential for a cold front moving into the Pacific Northwest appeared in the noon forecast of the 11-15 day weather outlook.
The Barclays Capital credit team released its periodic oil and gas producer hedging report last evening. They indicate that their 37-company peer group has 46% of 2012 volumes (oil and gas) hedged and 24% of 2013.
This is lower than a year ago, when producers had 54% of 2011 and 28% of 2012 hedged. The report notes that as of the date of data compilation, only 18% of 2013 gas was hedged.
We suspect that prices levels have been unattractive for producers, leading to lower hedge volumes than in previous years.
Cash markets gave back yesterday's gains, with most price points slipping a few cents. Henry Hub shed a penny, to $3.05. New York (Transco-Z6) fell three cents, to $3.33. SoCalBorder also slid three cents, to $3.36.
